Golf tee



lani 20, 1953 J. A; KARNS 2,626,150

GOLF TEE Filed Oct. 6, 1949 IN VEN TOR. JAMES A. KARNS ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 20, 1953 GOLF TEE James A. Karns, Akron, Ohio, assignor to Fawick Flexi-Grip Company, a corporation of Ohio Application October 6, 1949, Serial No. 119,832

3 Claims.

This invention relates to tees for golf practice. Its chief objects are to provide a tee having the advantages of durability; freedom of action for the ball and the club; security of holding the tee in place by a practice mat through which it may extend; uniformly of flexure in all directions throughout a long period of use; and economy of manufacture and of replacement of parts.

Of the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a tee embodying my invention in its preferred form and the surrounding portion of a practice mat in association with which the tee may be used.

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, but on a larger scale.

The specific embodiment here shown comprises a stamped or spun sheet-metal holder having a fiat base portion l0, here shown as of only such size as to be held down upon a smooth surfaced practice slab or platform by overlying rubber strips 1 l, I I of a strip type practice mat that is extensively used.

At the middle of the base the metal of the base rises in the form of an approximately frusto-conical dome I2 open at its top to accommodate the stem of a rubber standard or tee-stem l3 formed integrally with an approximately frusto-conical base 14 which approximately fits the inner face of the hollow dome l2 of the metal base member except that it preferably, from snug contact with that face, can descend about of an inch in coming to rest on the surface that supports the metal base member.

This provides a slight looseness such that the rubber member is freely rotatable in the metal member, on a vertical axis, and yet is held captive, and accurately positioned, by the latter.

Preferably the standard portion l3 of the rubber member is of tubular form as shown, with an upper end opening defined by a bevel edge It providing the seat for the ball.

The dome portion 12 of the metal base is adapted to hold apart the adjacent strips H, II of the mat, so that the standard portion I3 of the rubber member will have space between the strips into which to be bent, on occasion, and preferably the dome I2 is only of such height as to extend upward not quite all of the way through the mat.

For avoidance of excessive cutting or abrasion of the rubber by the metal margin defining the hole in the top of the dome l2 it is desirable that the said margin be given substantial thickness and transversely rounded, as by stamping or spinning the marginal metal outward to form a transversely rounded crimped bead I6.

The provision for free rotation of the rubber member in the metal member results in frequent change of the angular position of the rubber member about a vertical axis, as a consequence of its being non-symmetrically struck by the club, and this avoids excessive repetition of like flexures of the rubber member. I find that this feature provides a tee that will withstand without damage a great many more strokes of the club than a tee in which the rubber member is not free to rotate.

I do not wholly limit my claims to a tee adapted for use with a practice mat, or to the particular materials herein mentioned, as various modifications are possible within the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A golf tee comprising a substantially rigid stabilizing base member and a vertically elongated, flexible ball-support member upstanding therefrom and stabilized thereby, the two having respective stabilizing faces mated to each other with only such engagement, and with such looseness between them, that the ball-support member is freely rotatable with relation to the base member in response to off-center impact of a golf club against the ball-support member.

2. A golf tee comprising a substantially rigid stabilizing base member and a vertically elongated, flexible ball-support member upstanding therefrom and stabilized thereby, the base member being formed with a vertical through aperture defined by a stabilizing wall and the ball-support member loosely extending through said aperture for direct support of each of the two members by their resting upon a flat support common to the two, the stabilizing faces of the two being mated to each other with only such engagement, and with such looseness between them, that the ballsupport member is freely rotatable with relation to the base member in response to off-center impact of a golf club against the ball-support member.

3. A golf tee comprising a substantially rigid stabilizing base member and a vertically elongated, flexible ball-support member upstanding therefrom and stabilized thereby, the base member being formed with a vertical through aperture defined by a stabilizing wall and the ballsupport member loosely extending through said aperture for direct support of each of the two members by their resting upon a flat support common to the two, the stabilizing faces of the two being mated to each other with only such engagement, and with such looseness between them. that the ball-support member is freely 3 rotatable with relation to the base member in response to ofi-center impact of a golf club against the ball-support member, the through aperture of the base member having a downwardly enlarged portion and the ball-support member having a downwardly enlarged portion in the downwardly enlarged portion of the said aperture.

JAMES A. KARNS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number 4 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Sickmiller May 4, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Oct. 27, 1921 Great Britain Feb. 28, 1924 Great Britain Mar. 19, 1940 

